POINTS OF CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN HUMOR AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

The use of humor in psychotherapy has been vigorously defended and sev erely criticized. This article reviews the applications of humor by th erapists of different schools and theoretical persuasions from psychoa nalysis to behaviorism, summarizes the principles that are involved, a nd discusses the pros and cons of the place of humor in psychotherapy. The major points of correspondence between humor and therapy in all t hese schools include: 1) therapeutic atmosphere, 2) therapeutic relati onship, and 3) therapeutic results. How these are realized is illustra ted in the clinical examples. The conclusion is that humor should be u sed with caution but has a place in psychotherapy.